'Whose Law and Whose Order?'

Bombay 1992: "Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood"


Now that 'judicial justice' has finally been delivered after 15 years of persistent pregnancy in the infamous Bombay serial blasts, it must be termed as post-mature judicial delivery! Judicial potency to convict accused on the basis of 'prima facie evidence' is unquestionable, but its potency gets punctured when it comes to analyse 'cause' and 'effect' theory (as explained in Justice Sri Krishna Commission report) on a mass scale.

The cause was callous and chaotic. The effect was conceited consciousness.

And its aftermath — a chartered accountant's belief in India's judicial system being shaken. Shaken after 13 years of incarceration.

Why did it took so long to decide whether the surrendered Memons — Yakub, Abdul Razak, Hanifa, Suleiman, Rubina, Essa and Yusuf — were guilty or not? The Memons surrendered believing in the government 'deal' that the female members will only be 'questioned but not arrested' and the male members would be 'arrested and helped to get bail' since 'none of the Memon family members was part of the underworld except for Tiger Memon'. Yakub and his other family members had no 'clue that Tiger was planning the serial blasts'.

The demolition of Babri Masjid and the riots that followed was the 'cause'. Bombay serial bomb blasts were its 'effect'. This is not to glorify the gory incident that left 257 people dead. This beginning of the serial bomb blast culture has done more harm to the Indian Muslim than anybody else. He has become a permanent suspect in the eyes of the security agencies. He is still reeling under its aftermath. In Malegaon and Hyderabad, it has made him a 'victim' as well as a 'suspect'. The Indian Muslim is perhaps going through the identity-crisis phase!

Justice is not a word but a complete sentence. The Indian Muslim has only heard the word 'justice' and yet to see the completion of the sentence. Time and again, he has been promised by the so-called 'secular' Congress party that the sentence will be completed by implementation of the Sri Krishna Commission report.

But alas, the report and the commission have become his fate. In each and every election, he has been put on an oxygen mask of implementation by the 'secular' souls. The oxygen mask has always been removed before he could breathe the air of implementation.
Perhaps, he should realise that oxygen masks are made for temporary use!

Deliberate State neglect and the Muslim politician's indifference towards the implementation of the Sri Krishna Commission report has made him to split the word 'justice'. Justice means just ice. Justice is like the ice that melts before he could quench his thirst.
The 'outbursts' witnessed in the TADA court are a true reflection of his anger against the establishment which believes that justice is a one-way street. (Zakir Hussein Shaikh on his death sentence: "Musalmano ko aisi hi phaasi ki sazaa milegi. Hamare ghar dukaan, loote gaye, phir bhi humko phaasi mili. Yeh kaunsa insaaf hai?" This is wrong. Muslims will always be hanged. Our houses and shops were looted but we are still being given the maximum punishment. What kind of justice is this?)

The police practised state genocide under the watchful eyes of the establishment and let other politicians indulge in the naked dance of communalism that included riots after riots. And there is nothing unique about it because it has been going on since 1961. "For all my adult life," wrote M.J. Akbar in 1990, "across two decades of reading, observing, trying to understand, trying to write, it has been one long sequence of riot after riot after riot: of the single dreams of young women charred by the brutality of an irresponsible destiny: of mothers punished with the death of their children: of fathers broken, battered because they bowed their heads to Allah".

Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, recently offered the oxygen mask of implementation once again: "I will take action".

Against whom? Against himself? That will be some cleansing of the political conscience!

Yakub Memon, an educated Indian Muslim (a practising chartered accountant) did not blame Justice Kode. "I forgive him," he said. That must be a good news for the judiciary. An Indian Muslim might have forgiven the Justice; but justice is still a far cry for Hajirabi Qureishi whose husband and eldest son was dragged by Shiv Sainiks and are still missing since January 10, 1993.